Sunak Eyes November 2024 as Preferred General Election Timing

Tory strategists hope UK economy will be in better shape
Prime minister can wait as late as January 2025 to hold poll

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes he can turn the economy around before calling a general election in the fall of next year, a person familiar with his thinking said.Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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By Kitty Donaldson

July 20, 2023 at 5:28 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is eyeing holding the UK’s next general election in November 2024 in order to allow the economy as much time as possible to recover before going to the polls, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

Under existing rules Sunak can call a vote for any time in the next 18 months but with his ruling Conservative Party trailing the Labour opposition by around 20 points in most recent national polls, there’s little incentive to go soon.